The remaining jade pendants were given to each of the women in the family, one for each.
He Ximei likes Fu melons.
Sister-in-law He likes green beans.
The safety buckle worn by He Zizhen.
The little rice cake is wearing peanuts around its neck.
Yun Jin also carried peanuts; the mother and daughter had matching items—one large peanut and one small peanut, representing good fortune.
They were all carved by He Tingchuan himself, and Yun Jin and Xiao Niangao both liked them very much.
The Guanyin and Maitreya Buddha statues were left, which Yun Jin kept for herself, to wear later when she had the chance.
The New Year's Eve dinner was very sumptuous. Everyone pitched in to prepare a delicious meal. He Ximei had to go back to have New Year's Eve dinner with her parents-in-law, so she ate lunch here before leaving.
We also watched the news together in the evening, stayed up late on New Year's Eve, and played games.
Little Rice Cake received quite a few red envelopes.
Yun Jin also prepared a red envelope, but He Ziqian was already at work and didn't want it.
He Zizhen was still young, and she happily thanked them after receiving the red envelope.
This year, Yun Jin didn't give out red envelopes, but Mama He gave Xiao Niangao a big red envelope.
Like He Zizhen's, it cost ten yuan.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yun Jin was woken up early by firecrackers. Hearing Xiao Doubao's cries, she got up and saw that Xiao Doubao, He Tingchuan, and Xiao Niangao and his son were having a snowball fight, each chasing after He Tingchuan.
The little dumpling protected its little master and shouted at He Tingchuan.
After watching from upstairs for a while, Yun Jin couldn't fall asleep, so she tidied up and went downstairs.
When Little Rice Cake saw her, she excitedly shouted, "Happy New Year, Mom! Mom, come quick, let's have a snowball fight!"
"Shall we go ice skating later?" Yun Jin touched Xiao Niangao's little hand; it was warm, so there was no need to worry about her catching a cold.
“Go.” He Tingchuan nodded.
Yun Jin went to call He Zizhen. After a simple breakfast, she took Xiao Niangao to visit each household in the courtyard to offer New Year's greetings. She received many red envelopes, which made Xiao Niangao very happy.
"Mom, please keep this red envelope. I'll use it to buy you delicious food and pretty clothes!" Little Niangao showed her filial piety.
Yun Jin's face lit up with joy: "Okay, I'll buy some rice cakes too!"
"I want to buy it for Daddy too!" Little Rice Cake knows how to coax his dad.
He Tingchuan's face was full of doting affection.
Mother He asked, "What about me?"
"Buy one for Grandma too!" This time, without Daddy He even having to say anything, Little Rice Cake chimed in, "Buy one for Grandpa, buy one for Auntie, buy one for Auntie, buy one for my older brother and sister!"
Finally, while holding Xiaodoubao, she said, "Buy one for Doubao too!"
They started trying to sweet-talk them on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and Mrs. He and the others simply couldn't handle it.
As soon as they left, Mr. He took out his savings: "Raising children is expensive. Give this money to Ayun so she can buy some treats for Xiaoniangao."
Mrs. He: "......"
Who would have thought the old man had a secret stash of money?
I counted it and found I still had more than thirty yuan left.
If it weren't for Xiao Niangao, Mrs. He wouldn't have known that the old man who managed her monthly pension actually had a secret stash of money.
Sure enough, men get less honest as they get older.
Mr. He ignored his wife's subtle gaze. He had worked hard all his life, and now that he was retired, couldn't he earn some extra money as pocket money?
This is all money he won playing chess with his old friends, saved up penny by penny, it's all here.
He wouldn't have taken it out if the little rice cake wasn't so cute!
When He Tingchuan and his group arrived at the ice rink, there were quite a few people skating on the first day of the Lunar New Year. This time, unlike last year, they didn't encounter any clueless hooligans, mainly because He Tingchuan was on guard the whole time.
He goes wherever his wife goes, giving no one else a chance.
When those people saw He Tingchuan, who was tall and strong and looked intimidating, none of them dared to covet Yun Jin.
The mother and daughter had a great time at the ice rink. He Zizhen even ran into her classmates, greeted them, and played with them.
Yun Jin was surprised to see He Ziqian and a girl wearing a red scarf. After taking a closer look, she realized it wasn't Feng Qianqian.
Upon meeting them, He Ziqian openly stated, "This is my girlfriend, Sun Sijia."
Yun Jin recognized the name; she wasn't He Ziqian's later wife in the original novel. She never expected they would be together now.
That's true. Without the reborn Feng Qianqian, he will definitely return to the original storyline.
Yun Jin, not wanting to interfere in He Ziqian's love life, smiled faintly and said, "I am He Ziqian's aunt. Come visit me anytime."
Sun Sijia nodded shyly: "Hello, Auntie!"
After chatting for a bit, Yun Jin said she needed to keep an eye on the child and went to find Xiao Niangao.
As Sun Sijia watched Yun Jin's departing figure, she said to He Ziqian, "So this is the aunt you were talking about from the countryside? She doesn't look like a country person at all; she's really beautiful."
He Ziqian laughed and said, "If she weren't pretty, my uncle wouldn't have agreed. She does have a good brother, otherwise..."
He didn't say anything more.
Sun Sijia could tell that He Ziqian didn't think much of this aunt.
They probably thought he came from their hometown.
Sun Sijia secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, she was a local. Although she couldn't compare to the children of high-ranking officials, she was still from Beijing, not from the countryside where people looked down on her.
Thinking of something, Sun Sijia asked, "When are you going to introduce me to your parents? We've been dating for a year."
He Ziqian gave a perfunctory reply: "Let's talk about it after the New Year. Anyway, we're still young. What are you afraid of? Do you think I'd abandon you?"
Sun Sijia was afraid of this and wanted to settle the marriage as soon as possible. After all, the man was from a high-ranking family, which was much better than hers, who came from a small, crowded courtyard.
If I marry He Ziqian, I can live in a small villa.
She hasn't lived here yet.
Now I'm crammed into a ten-square-meter space with my family. It's cold and cramped, unlike the compound where there's heating. Even in the dead of winter, when it's minus twenty degrees Celsius, the houses in the compound are warm, like springtime.
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